Assigjfos to



W. B. MATHEWSON.

KNOTTER FOR MATTRESS TUFTING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED mmzs, 1912 LWSJF. Patented Aug. 8,1916.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

W. B. MATHEWSON. KNOTTER FOR MATTRESS TUFTINQ MACHINES.

I 1 APPUCATION FILED MAR. 29,1912. 1 193 708, Patented Aug. 8, 1916.

v 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- I I F or/97025871 l C, Wredfl JFzZrQe/cc/m- 071/,

W 55 WWW W. B. MATHEWSON.

KNOTTER FQR MATTRESS TUFTING MACHINES. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 29, 1912.

1 9 1 93,7@& Patented Aug. 8, 1916.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

M II;

W. B. MATHEWSON. KNOTTER FOR MATTRESS TUFTING MACHINES. APPLICATION FILED MAH.29,1912.

9 1 9 3970' I Patented Aug. 8, 1916.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

' w. B. MATHEWSON.j

KNOTTER FOR MATTRESS TUF'TING MACHINES.

1,193,78. Patented Aug. 8, 1916.

APPLICATION FILED MARlZQ, 1912.

B SHEETS-SHEET 5.

v w. BQMAIHEWSON. KNUI ER FOR MATTRESS -TUFTING MACHINES. APPLICATION FILED MAL-29, I912.

1,193,708. v v Patented Au 8, 1916.

"' s SHEETS-SHEET 6.

' WQB. IVIATHEWSON.- KNOTTER FOR MATTRESS TUFTING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 29, I9I2- Patenwd Aug. 8,1916.

the upper compressor 6 is first brought down upon the mattress at the desired point there by squeezing it between the upper and lower compressors. Simultaneously, a tuft is fed into place on each side of the mattress. The needle 8 is then forced downwardly through the mattress carrying with it the tufting twine and in its descent the needle pierces the mattress and enters the lower compressor head and the knotting mechanism. The knotting mechanism is provided A with a gripper which grips the loose end of the twine and the needle then rises, leaving the strand of twine in its path. After the needle is elevated it is moved bodily forwardly in a plane at right angles to its lengtha suflicient distance to carry the twine across over the upper tuft and the needle then descends carrying the second strand of twine'through the mattress parallel to the first strand. During the time that the neodle was being elevated and carried for wardly the knotting mechanism has formed a loop in the first strand of twine, and this loop is so placed that when. the needle makes its second descent in its forward position it passes through the loop. The end of the twine which has been held by the gripper is then released and is drawn through the "loop of twine carried. by'the needle, and then the needle rises and by drawing backwardly on the thread the knot is formed. Suitable 'mechanism is employed for cutting the twine after the knot has been formed and then the needle is shifted back to its original position ready for its next operation. The needle thus makes two passes through the mattress in the formation of each knot. This in brief is the cycle of operations of the machine, and since my present invention relates solely tothe knotter and not to the mechanism for operating the needle or the compressor, I have not deemed it necessary to further describe the general operation of the machine.

The knot which is tied by my improved knotter is similar to that tied by the knotter shown in PatentNo. 819,954. In Figs. 7 to 15 l have illustrated diagrammatically the various steps in the operation of forming he knot, and I will first refer to these briefly before describing in detail the mechanism for accomplishing the desired object,

In Fig. 7 the'needle 8 is shown as having. made its first descent carrying the twine 11' down through the mattress, the end 12of the twine being bent back upwardly parallel to the needle by. the forcing of the needle through the mattress. This end 12 of the twine is then gripped between two gripping members 13 and 14 and carried around to the left, as shown diagrammatically in Fig. 9. The construction of the gripper, which is shown more in detail in Figs. 8 and 10,

will be more fully described hereinafter. After the end 12 of the twine has been thus gripped between the gripping members the needle is withdrawn, as shown in full lines Fig. 11, and a loop 15 is then formed in the first strand of the twine by means of a suitable looper 16, the construction ofwhich will be enlarged upon hereinafter. It should be remarked that the-lower tuft 17 is fed into place before the needle makes its first descent. After the needle has been elevated,

as shown in Figs. 11 and 12, an upper tuft I 18 is fed into place and the needle is carried forwardly so as to carry the twine 11 over the upper tuft 18, and then the needle descends through the loop 15, as shown in Fig. 13, thus carrying a loop 20 of the tufting twine through said loop 15. While the needle is in its lowered position the end 12 of the twine is released by the grippers 13 and 14, and said end is drawn through the loop 20 of twine carried by the needle, this operation being accomplished by means of a cross-hook 19, the construction of which will be elaborated'upon hereinafter. When the end 12 of the twine has been drawn through the needle loop 20 of twine the needie is elevated, as shown. in Fig. 1 1, and by drawing on the twine the knot is tightened, as shown in Fig. 15.

The formation of the knot with my invention is accomplished by means of the coiiperation of the needle, the gripper, the looper 16, and the cross-hook 19, there being really only three elements aside from the needle. This simplifies very much the construction of the knotter, and, as will be presently described, makes a knotter which will tie the knot without the necessity of providing-any slack in the twine.

The lower tuft 17 is fed into place bya tuft presenter, and said tuft presenter, the gripper, the looper and the cross-hook are all sustained by and operated in a head 23 which is suitably supported on the frame, and these parts are all actuated by cams which are carried by a cam shaft 24 thatis journaled in said head and is operatively driven by any suitable means.

T he upper side 25 of the head 23 consti tutcs the lower compressor, which coiipcrates with the upper compressor 6 to compress the portion of the mattress where the tuft is to be tied, as seen in Fig- 23, wherein the mattress is shown i'n dotted lines. This lower compressor portion of the head is made comparatively narrow so that during the compressing of the mattress it acts .on comparatively small portion-of-the mattress. This enables the portion of the mattress between the compressors to be more severely compressed than if the lower compressor were of considerable area and consequently acted against a considerable portion of the mat- 1 will first describe the tuft presenter.

The tuft presenter is shown at 26 and is in the nature of a block slidably mounted in a shit or way 27 formed in the head 23. Said tuft presenter is formed at its upper end with a transverse tuft-carrying groove which is adapted to engage the tuft l7 and carry it. up above the compressor as shown in i The tuft-s are fed to the tuft presenter through an aperture formed in the head, and in the form'oi a continuous length 31 oflooselynisted fibrous material, and means are associated with the tuft gn-esenter for cutting off from this continuous piece the lengths which constitute the separate tufts l7. [his continuous length of twisted fibrous material passes into a -feeding member 32 in the form of a tube which is sustained by an arm 33 that is pivoted in the head at 3-1. The arm 32 ismoved forwardly to carry the feeding tube into the aperture 29 and the end of the titit which projects beyond the tube is then engaged by a gripper and the arm then swings baclrwardly, said gripper operating to draw the length 31 through the tube during such backward movement. The arm 33 is given its osciliating movement by a snitabie cam. L5 mounted. on the shaft 24: and acting on one end of a iever 36 which is pivoted at 37, the other end of said lever can rying a pin 38 which engages in a slot 39 formed in the lever 'i'he cam 35 is timed to give the lever 33 osciilatory movement at the proper point. in the cycle of operations.

The tuft gripper which engages the end of the tutting material when the lever 33 is moved forwardly is shown in section in Fig.

and in dotted lines in Fig. 4-. This gripper comprises a sliding member 40 pro ided with 'a slot 41 in which is received a station ary gripping block 42 that is secured to the head 23 inside of the wall of the passage 27 therein* The sliding gripping member 40 is connected to a lever pivotal] y mounted at h and operatediby a cam 45 carried by the shaft 24. At th time that the feeding tube 32 swings forwardly the cam 45 has moved the movable gripping member 40 into the position shown in Fig. 24, and when the feeding tube 32 swings for, ardly the end of the tufting material carried thereby is carried between the end 46 of the giipping member 40 and. the stationary gripping member 42. The member 40 is then moved into the position shown in Figs. 4 and 20 thereby gripping the end of the tufti-ng materihl between the parts 42 and 46 The tube 32 then swings backwardly into the position shown in Fig. 5, thus causing the tufting material to be drawn througl'i thetube. The tuft 17 is then cut from the material by a knife 47 which operated by a lever 48 that is actuated by a cam 49, said knife moving inside of the passageway 27, as clearly seen in Fig, 2*).

The tuft 17 which is thus severed from the material 31 is situated directly above the tuft-carrying groove in the tuft presenter, so that when the presenter moves upwardly the tuft is carried thereby above'the 'ou'i-- pressor and against the mattress as seen in Fig. 23. This'upward movement of the tuft presenter is accomplished by the following mechanism: The under side of the tuft presenter is crevided with rack teeth $530 which mesh with a pinion. 4 0 on a, fillili i v lil. This shaft is provided with a pinion 51, the teeth of which mesh with a rack 52 umvable vertically in ways in the head 23. is pivotally connected at its lower end to a lever 53 which is pivoted at 54 and is provided with a pin or stud playing in a cam groove in a cam 56 that is carried by the shaft 24, said cam groove being so shaped as to give the proper eievating and lowering movement to the tuft presenter. After the lover tuft 17 has been presented the needle 8 descends, as shown in Figs. '7 and :23, the up per end of the tuftpresenter being formed with the passageway 5'? for the needle, to permit the needle to pass behind the tu't't. When the needle makes its first de cent passes down through the opening '8 in a block 59, that is secured in the upper part-oi the head, and during this downward movement of the needle the end l2 of the tutting twine is carried through the u'uittress and into the lcnotting mechanism. This end 152- is then gripped by a gripping mechanism which will now be described.

The gripper herein shown comprises a stud 60 which fixedly sustained in the head 23 and is formed with two passageways (1-1 and for the needle, the needle in its first descent entering the passageway {31. Loosely surrounding the stud 0 is a retary gripping sleeve (38 which is provided with a gripping finger 14 which overlies the upper end of the stud 60 and is situated at one side of the needle passage (31., as shown in Fig. 17. This gripping; sleeve 53 is turned about the stud (30 by suitable meclr anism, and the gripping linger 14 engages the end 12 e1" twine and carries said end around against a fixed gripping member 13..

819.954. After the needle is elevated the' horizontal loop is formed in the twine that is situated between the gripper 13', 1 1 and the mattress. This loop is formed by the looper 16 which will now be described. Said looper is formed at its. forward end with two hook-shaped fingers 70 which are spaced apart suiiiciently to receive the neodle 8 between them. In order to form the loop, the hook-shaped fingers are moved forwardly past the twine 11- and the looper is turned so that the hook-shaped fingers stand horizontally, as seenin Fig. 11*. The hook is then withdrawn into the passage '71 and the fingers engage the twine and pull a bight of it into said passage, as seen in dotted lines, Fig. 11. The looper is then turned on. its axis through about three-quarters of a revolution in the direction of the arrow Fig. 11 to carry the fingers around underneath the looper and up onto the upper side thereof. into the position shown in Fig. 13, and in making this turn the horizontal loop 15 is formed in the twine, it

being understood that the loop. is formed in the passageway 7l. The looper 16 then moves forwardly carrying with it the loop 15 which is held on the. fingers into position to be penetrated by the needle 8 in its next descent. The looper 16, therefore, has two movements, a reciprocating movement and a. turning movement on its axis. The loopr is mounted to reciprocate in the recess or passage 71 formed in the head 23, and in order to secure the two movements of the'looper, I form the shank thereof with gear teeth 72 which run longitudinally there of and also with other teeth 73 which extend circumferentially thereof. The gear teeth 7 3 mesh with a vertically arranged pinion 74 loosely mounted on a stud '7 5 carried by the head 23, see Fig. 9.2., and this pinion has engagement with a rack 76 which rcciprocates transversely of the head. The rack 76 is pivotally connected to a lever 77 also pivoted to the pivotal pin 68 and actuated by a cam 78 mounted on the shaft 2 1:. The rotation of the pinion 74; moves the looper longitudinally and the cam 78 is so shaped and timed as to give the looper its reciprocating movement at proper time intervals. The longitudinal gear teeth 72 mesh with theteeth of a transverse rack 79 which is connected to a lever 80 also pivoted on 73 extend circamterentially of the looper the'pinion Y4 will have operative engage nlent therewith in any position of the looper about its The mechanism thus described. operates to advance the looper at the proper time and turn the looper on its so that the fingers 70 thereof will engage the twine 11 after the needle has been elevated. The looper is then retracted into the dotted line position, 11, and is turned about its axis to form the horizon l loop 15. After the loop 15 has thus been icimed the needle is moved forwardly bodily, as de scribed in said Patent l lo. 819,954, and then descends through the loop 15, as shown in Fig. 13, between the fingers'TO and into the needle passage 62, said needle at this time passing through the opening 82 in "the block 59. It will be understood, of course, that when the needle is carried forwardly before its second descent the twine 11 is carried over the upper tuft 18 which has been pre viously presented by mechanism carried by the head 3 and which may be similar to that shown in Patent No. 819,954.

After the needle has made its seco d descent, as shown in 13, the end 12 of the twine is drawn through the loop of twine carried by the needle b y means of the cross hook 19. This cross hook is situated above the gripper and is carried by a reciprocating block 83 that is connected to and operated by a lever 8 that is pivoted on the pivotal pin 68 and is actuated by a cam 85 mounted on the shaft 52%. The hook is pivoted to the block at 86 and is provided with afoot 8? which acted upon by a plunger 88 that is backed by a spring 89, said spring and plunger yieldingly holding the hook in a position determined by the adjustable stop 90. This cross hook is so positioned and shaped that when the block 83 moves forwardly after the needle makes its second descent the point of the hook enters between the twine 11 and the needle, as shown in Fig. 13, and during this time the curved portion 91 of the hook is forced yieldinxgly against-the needle by the spring 89. The cross hook is advanced far enough so as to engage the end 12 of the twine and as this end is grasped by said cross hook it is released by the grippers 13 and 14-. The cross hook is then retracted so as to draw the end 12 of the twine through the loop twine carried by the needle and the retract ing movement of this cross hook vies said end of the twine between the surf e oi: the block and the extension 93 formed on the upper side or" the stud (30, as shown clearly in Fig. 14:. The end 12 of the twine alter having been drawn through the loop 20 the needle twine is thus firmly gripped tween the cross hook and the surfaces 92, The needle is then elevated, as shown in Fig. 14 and the combined action of the needle drawing on the twine and of the cross hook in hairlin the end 12 serves to'i'zighten the 11101 35 shown in Fig. 15.

' The iiarmw simp e iii the compress-er 25 permits the portion of the mattress bemeen the compressors to be more cieseiy cem pressed itiian is pessibie with the cunsizme tion shown in IEateni 37% 819,95, and. my iIHPIOVGCi 'imeibising mechanism 511e,. "m 'ie the knot close up to the cempressei K1091}- trees and with pragiicaliy 10 slack therein. As a result. when she kilo-i 1:; men. ihe

tress cannot expand to any appreciable ex tent and the tut-Ming operat on 1s more satia iuctemly like then 18 130851 318 where the knot can oniy be tied by previc ing 2- certain amount of slack. Furthennere, it 'wiii be seen that with my mechanism the knot is tied by the coiperation of three mincipai ele ments in addition to the needle and these elements are arranged so that they can be irapiiily 01 em'tedi in which. he iooper operates sei'ves 1'10 pixvicie for iying the knot mgiidiy and evenraieiy' and with the use of a minimum n=1m-- ber of parts. I

While 1 have illus'zrated herein the we fez-red cunstruction of my invention, yet 1 wish iiuncierst-ood that he in ention iimitmi to the constructional cietaiis shewn and that censcquentiy various changes may he made in the parts Without departing fmm the inventien.

Having in Hy described my invention, wmit 1 ciziim as new and desire to secure by Letters; Patent is 1. in n kneter, the combinaiion with gripper device is grip and 110k momentarily the and of a iengih of twine leading in: :1 LL source of supply, of :1 loeper, means to give :he iooper a rccip 'peatoiy ziu'itien in :1 dir iviOll transverse to the direutimi ef the iibi'igiil if twine to cause it to engu 1 id length of t ine at a distzuuae from (i and on iintnry motion to cause ii n farm a i in d twine means to inserib a second'l n1" twine thmugh t e iret mcniionee. and. means in (ha-2w mesa end. if the iwme thwug snb second p when said end w. 12 by fihc gJri ppm:

121 z: knotter. the comhizmiiou with ii, profiting neeciie "10 present a iwg th n5? twine having; a imse em of a gripper m fll'ip he and 0'5 the twine when the media ie'i'c-ied V" a'z'vby a length of mine is drawn (if during illii ug mm'ci znovcizieni 0f the new 'of, reek die, an eeciiiatory, reeipmcatery iwper t0 engage the 11' ngth of twine and form 100;? wherein, Siiifi nee-die 1117011 next iewnward movement. eai-rying a sec-em 00p thi-eugii the iifist-izientioned ioep and. me: to draw the ioese end 61 the twine tin-mi said sec- J16. 100g),

3. in :1 kneiter, the combination pper cievice to grip and held inc mentarii the a ieng'h 0i twine ieading from a emircc 0f sup iiy, of a beeper: means to recip rosate the luepe'c 0 wuss ii; to engage said Wine at :5, distance the end and draw the twine iiiiitili y i0 form bend ihe'eim Iii-emisacting on i on it:

with a -11e ioogiei" to A1111 1% 'chereby 0 -01n1 a leap in fiwine, means to inser "econd i001) tiiraugh the iii-si-meniioiied ieop means to open the grip- (ievici: to i'eiezise the loose CD6 and means to draw said loose end threughsai-i second 100p.

In the eetiiiiination with 4 L e having a lease *nci a 001M. having 5L shank proiongitudin: gezii' fiueuh ii'xtemiizg meebing with the i eeizii and de fied n :0 axis, a pinion mush tiiii iee biz and. :uiapgi ic-n itiu'iiimily iieirei, the iengih (if twine and 311113 :1. A means i3. insert :1 secomi ion-p iiii'l'mggh aim imp iihl farmed, 21ml mew-is 'tu 1. "aw the we the imper ieope: engzlgies 100% end ti'irougii said second 100p.

Lin :3. inwiwr, the emibinaiiiin with :1 t'vine-cm'rying needle and means in; ibrate it of me: 1 S ta grip the end of iwine mum rim by Enid needle azui (muse 2i ieiigth 0f twine to be (1211. W1 0? fiiei'cfvom as 3 0 needle is iretzaeii :1 iooper, mean-5 to i 'pzeunize Said impel in :1 (iii'ectien ii;iR{-UQl'1-1$ to the (iiiiecifiism 6i move: 11$: 01? the iwine-u neeiiie cause it to m'mge the Mme ii firm? if. itiiiilfiiif/ and to 5mm said impel (if; its zi :1 loop in. said an wme ii'eugh said ascend 100;

"Witter; the eombimitmii with {L means n draw t) ciprocating needle, of agrippr comprising a fixed gripping member and an oscillatory gripping member movable in a curved path about the needle when the latter is in lowered position thereby to engage the loose end of I draw the end of the twine through said sec- 0nd loop.

8. v In a knotter, the combination with a reciprocating needle, of a gripper comprising a block having a fixed grippin member associated therewith and a need e passage, a rotatable sleeve carrying a movable gripping finger to engage the loose end of twine carried by the needle and clamp it against the fixed gripping member, upward movement of the needle operating to draw oif a length of twine, means to form a loop in said length, means to insert a second loop therethrough and to draw the end of the twine through said second loop.

9. In a mattress-tufting machine, the combination with a reciprocating twine-carrying needle, of a gripper comprising a fixed block having a needle passage and a fixed gripping member, a rotatable toothed sleeve, a movablengripping finger carried by said sleeve and movable adjacent to the needle passage thereby to engage the loose end of twine and clamp it against the fixed gripping member, upward movement of the needle operating to draw off a length of twine, a looper situated a gripper comprising a fixed-block having two needle passages and a gripping member, a toothed sleeve carrying a gripping finger, said needle upon its first descent entering one of said needle passages, means to rotate said sleeve thereby to clamp the end of the twine against the fixed gripping member, means to' form a loop for the twine which is drawn ed as the needle is elevated, means to cause the needle in its second, descent to penetrate saidloop and enter the second needle passage, and means to draw the end of the thread through the second loop so formed.

11L In a mattress-trifling machine, the combination with means to present a length of twine having a loose end, of a gripper to grip said loose end, a single reciprocatory and oscillatory loop-forming element to form a loop in said length, means to insert a second loop through the loop thus formed, and a cross hook to draw the loose end of the twine through said second loop.

In testimony whereof, I havesigned my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILFBED B. MATHEWSON.

Witnesses:

ALICE G. NIXON, I THOMAS J. DRUMMOND. 

